Page 15 of The Fae King's Labyrinth

She turned and wrinkled her nose at me. “Only my sister’s family calls me that.”

“Fine, I will call you something else. Just come back this way.” I started to move toward her when something brushed past my boot, making my heart rate jump.

“Did you feel that?” the pooka asked.

Calypso’s scream cut him off as she jumped backward. “Something bit me!”

I started a spell, reaching for my sword as I plowed through the black water toward her. The pooka lunged forward, his borrowed sword out and the torch raised above his head as he peered into the water.

“Move back from the edge,” I ordered Calypso.

She complied, limping. “I don’t know what it could’ve been. Maybe I stepped on something.”

“Or there’s something in the water we can’t see.” The pooka waved his torch over the surface. A flurry of movement beneaththe water caused a profusion of ripples. “Definitely something in the water.”

“She needs to have her feet out of the water,” I declared.

“I can transform into a horse and carry her on my back,” the pooka suggested.

I spared an assessing glance his way. His worried expression did appear genuine.

“Very well.”

“I’ll have to drop my torch, though.”

Calypso suppressed a squeak and edged closer to me. “Something keeps brushing my ankles,” she whispered. “My foot is burning.”

“Transform,” I ordered the pooka. “If your torch goes out, I will relight it.” One instant the pooka was a man and the next a horse stood in the water beside us. The magic was instantaneous and impressively precise now that I was observing it up close.

Not waiting for permission, I swung Calypso up onto the pooka’s back. She hooked her left leg over and settled into an astride position, putting her injured foot in easy view. One glimpse was enough to verify she had been bitten, and whatever had bitten her was probably venomous.

I reached out and caught her rapidly swelling ankle. She cried out softly with pain and instinctively tried to pull it free, but I held on.

“Hush now. I can help.” The slender foot that I had glimpsed merely hours ago had turned black and blue around the two puncture wounds caused by a viper’s fangs.

“Can you heal it?” she asked as she leaned over the pooka’s neck.

“Not until I know which kind of viper bit you. However, I can slow the poison’s progress until I can do more.” Reaching into the folded space of the elven storage spell with surprising ease, I pulled forth a roll of enchanted bandage. I always carried it withme these days after spraining my ankle during my first ride with the Wild Hunt.

“Hurry,” the pooka pleaded, prancing in place. “There is a massive amount of movement past the drop-off point. I fear we’ll soon be facing more than a bunch of vipers.” His ears were pinned back, and he pawed the ground, splashing water around us.

“Hold still,” I ordered. “I’ll deal with whatever it is once I have this bandage on her.”

The pooka snorted but held still.

I caught Calypso’s ankle again, causing her to hiss in pain. Beginning above the point of discoloration, I wrapped the bandage around her leg, speaking the activating phrases for the different aspects of the bandage’s spell.

“Should I expect more vines?”

I glanced up to find Calypso lying on her stomach along the pooka’s back and watching my work. The paleness to her face concerned me, but I couldn’t do anything about it now.

“No.” I smoothed the end of the bandage over itself, and it sealed, hardening into a plaster-like consistency.

The pooka flicked his ears. “Where do you want me?”

“A fair distance behind me. Keep her safe and out of the water if possible.” I drew my sword before turning to face the rapidly growing agitation in the water.

Thankfully, the moon’s power was waning. Hopefully, I could risk using more of my magic than I had when the moon was at its peak strength.

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